Page 330 - Media Effects Advances in Theory and Research

12. EFFECTS OF SEX IN THE MEDIA 319

Sexual Materials as Trigger for Violent Behavior

Links between sex and aggression have long been speculated on, particu-
larly in the sense of sexual arousal facilitating violent behavior. The
research has been inconsistent, however, with some studies showing that
erotic materials facilitate aggressive behavior, especially if the participant
is angry (Baron, 1979; Donnerstein & Hallam, 1978), and others showing
they inhibit it (Donnerstein, Donnerstein, & Evans, 1975; Ramirez, Bryant,
& Zillmann, 1982). The resolution of this issue may lie in the precise char-
acter of the material. Sexual violence and dehumanizing themes typically
facilitate aggression, whereas some loving and pleasant erotica may
inhibit it (Zillmann, Bryant, Comisky, & Medoff, 1981). Also, sexual vio-
lence affects different people in different ways.

Impact Depends on How the Woman Is Portrayed

To understand the effects of sexual violence, the way that the woman is
portrayed must be must be examined carefully. Neil Malamuth (1984)
reported several studies in which men viewed scenes of violent pornogra-
phy and afterward rated their attitudes on several topics. Men who saw
those films showed a more callous attitude toward rape and women in
general, especially if the women victims in the film were portrayed as
coming to orgasm in the assault.

Individual Differences in Male Viewers. Some early studies examined
convicted rapists and found them to be aroused by both rape and con-
senting sex, whereas normal men were aroused only by the consenting
sex (Abel, Barlow, Blanchard, & Guild, 1977; Quinsey, Chaplin, & Upfold,
1984), although later studies did not find this consistent arousal effect in
sex offenders (Baxter, Barbaree, & Marshall, 1986; Hall, 1989).
Going beyond convicted rapists, studies of “normal” college under-
graduates found that these men could on occasion be aroused by scenes of
sexual violence. For example, men, though not women, were equally or
even more aroused by a rape scene than by a consenting sex scene, but
only if the victim was portrayed as enjoying the rape and coming to
orgasm (Malamuth, 1984; Malamuth, Heim, & Feshbach, 1980; Ohbuchi,
Ikeda, & Takeuchi, 1994). The men were not aroused if the victim was
shown to be terrorized.
In further examining this question in regard to individual differences in
men, Malamuth and Check (1983; see also Malamuth, 1981) had men listen
to a tape of a sexual encounter of (a) consenting sex, (b) nonconsenting sex
where the woman showed arousal, or (c) nonconsenting sex where she
showed disgust. Where the woman showed disgust, both force-oriented